Opposition cries foul as Egypt's Sharia-based constitution finalized

CAIRO (Reuters) - An Islamist-led assembly was expected to finalize a new constitution on Friday aimed at transforming Egypt and paving the way for an end to a crisis which erupted when President Mohamed Mursi gave himself sweeping new powers last week.

Mursi said his decree halting court challenges to his decisions, which provoked protests and violence from Egyptians fearing a new dictator was emerging less than two years after they ousted Hosni Mubarak, was "for an exceptional stage".

"It will end as soon as the people vote on a constitution," he told state television on Thursday night. "There is no place for dictatorship."

The assembly was expected to finish approving the draft constitution on Friday, allowing a referendum to be held as soon as mid-December on a text the Islamists say reflects Egypt's new freedoms.

Mursi's critics argue it is an attempt to rush through a draft they say has been hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood, which backed Mursi for president in June elections, and its allies.

Two people have been killed and hundreds injured in the protests since last Thursday's decree, which deepened the divide between the newly-empowered Islamists and their opponents.

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